Malaria kills 2 million yearly -World Bank
Akwa Ibom State Booster Project in collaboration with the World Bank, stated this yesterday, during a sensitisation seminar for media workers in Uyo, the state capital.
The seminar with the theme 'Malaria prevention and control' educated media personnel on variety of topics such as causes, mode of transmission, signs and symptoms, management, use of insecticide treated nets as well as treatment of malaria.
One of the papers presented described malaria as "an illness caused by a parasite (plasmodium) that is spread by one type of mosquito called Anopheles. Fever, is usually the first sign of malaria. There are other mosquitoes that bite but do not spread malaria," it said.
"Malaria is especially dangerous for children under five years of age and pregnant women; this is because pregnant women, just like children under five have less immunity to fight malaria. If a pregnant woman gets malaria, the malaria can also harm or kill her baby before it is born," it added.
To protect oneself from malaria, however, the seminar recommended the use of insecticide treated nets at night for families, being the most reliable way of keeping mosquitoes away from children while asleep, and pregnant women, adding that the LLN has no harmful side effect on users.
